Method of containing a floral grouping or potted plant

ABSTRACT

A method of containing a floral grouping or potted plant in a sleeve is disclosed. The sleeve has first and second panels, and at least a portion of at least one of the first and second panels is constructed of at least two layers of material. At least a portion of the at least two layers of material may be connected.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/110,250,filed Apr. 20, 2005, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 10/780,084, filed Feb. 17, 2004, now abandoned; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/325,103, filed Dec. 19, 2002, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,691,458, issued Feb. 17, 2004; which is a continuation ofU.S. Ser. No. 10/051,116, filed Jan. 17, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No.6,701,667, issued Mar. 9, 2004; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.09/895,302, filed Jun. 29, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,456, issuedFeb. 5, 2002; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/626,375, filedJul. 26, 2000, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.09/366,630, filed Aug. 3, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,657, issued Feb.27, 2001; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/025,090, filedFeb. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,979, issued Aug. 3, 1999; whichis a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/775,516, filed Jan. 2, 1997, nowU.S. Pat. No. 5,740,658, issued Apr. 21, 1998; which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 08/460,180, filed Jun. 2, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No.5,617,703, issued Apr. 8, 1997; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.08/237,078, filed May 3, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979, issued onMay 6, 1997; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No.08/220,852, filed Mar. 31, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,851, issuedNov. 12, 1996. The entire contents of each of the above-referencedpatents and patent applications are hereby expressly incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to sleeves, and, more particularly, tosleeves used to wrap flower pots containing floral groupings and/ormediums containing floral groupings, and methods of using same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a sleeve having a detaching elementconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 1 having a pottedplant disposed therein.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pot such as might be used with thesleeve of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the potted plant disposed in the sleeveof FIG. 2 after an upper portion of the sleeve has been removed toprovide a pot cover having a skirt.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a version of the sleeve of FIG. 1 witha gusseted bottom.

FIG. 6 is a partial cutaway, elevational view of an alternate version ofthe sleeve of FIG. 1 wherein a bonding material is disposed upon anupper end of the sleeve.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of an alternate version of the sleeve ofFIG. 1 having a folding flap.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of an alternate version of the sleeve ofFIG. 1 having a bonding material disposed on a portion of an innersurface of the sleeve.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of an alternate version of the sleeve ofFIG. 1 having a bonding material disposed on a portion of an outersurface of the sleeve.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the sleeve of FIG. 9 crimpedabout a pot.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the crimped sleeve of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 9 wherein acrimped portion is formed above an upper end of a pot.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the crimped sleeve of FIG. 12 wherein acrimped portion is formed above a pot.

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of another version of the sleeve of FIG.1 having an extended portion serving as a support extension.

FIG. 15 is an elevational view of another version of the sleeve of FIG.1 having an extended portion serving as a handle.

FIG. 16 is an elevational view of another version of the sleeve of FIG.1 having an additional detaching element for enhancing the extension ofa skirt portion of the sleeve after detachment of an upper portion ofthe sleeve.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 16 after the upperportion has been removed.

FIG. 18 is an elevational view of another version of the sleeve of FIG.1 having notched perforated areas for enhancing extension of a skirtportion of the sleeve after detachment of an upper portion of thesleeve.

FIG. 19 is a an elevational view of the sleeve of FIG. 18 after theupper sleeve portion has been removed.

FIG. 20 is an elevational view of an alternate version of a sleeve ofthe present invention wherein an upper portion of the sleeve isconstructed of a different material than a lower portion of the sleeve.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a version of a sleeve of the presentinvention wherein the sleeve comprises expansion elements for enhancingextension of a skirt portion once an upper portion is removed.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 21 after the upperportion has been removed and the skirt portion is extended.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.21 except the expansion elements do not extend completely to an upperend of the sleeve.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 23 taken alongline 24-24 thereof.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of another version of a sleeve of thepresent invention wherein the sleeve comprises z-shaped expansionelements for enhancing extension of a skirt portion.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 25 after an upperportion has been removed to reveal the skirt portion.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.25 except the z-shaped expansion elements do not extend completely to anupper end of the sleeve.

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 27 taken alongline 28-28 thereof.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a version of a sleeve of the presentinvention wherein the sleeve comprises fluted or groove-shaped expansionelements for enhancing extension of a skirt portion.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 29 after an upperportion has been removed to reveal the skirt portion.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.29 except the fluted or groove-shaped expansion elements do not extendcompletely to an upper end of the sleeve.

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 31 taken alongline 32-32 thereof.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of a sleeve which is exactly the same asthe sleeve of FIG. 23 except it has a support extension on the upperend.

FIG. 34 is a perspective view of a sleeve which is exactly the same asFIG. 23 except it has handles on the upper end.

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view of a pot used in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of a pot cover having a bondingmaterial on a portion of its inner surface.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of the pot of FIG. 35 disposed in thepot cover of FIG. 36 showing the connection of the pot to an innersurface of the pot cover.

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view of a sleeve having an open lower endand having a bonding material on a portion of an inner surface near alower end.

FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view of the pot and cover of FIG. 37disposed within the sleeve of FIG. 38 wherein a portion of an outersurface of the pot cover is connected to the sleeve.

FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view of a pot cover having a bondingmaterial on both a portion of an inner surface and on a portion of anouter surface of the pot cover.

FIG. 41 is a cross-sectional view of the pot cover of FIG. 40 havingdisposed therein the pot of FIG. 35 wherein the pot is connected to theinner surface of the pot cover by the bonding material on the innersurface of the pot cover.

FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view of a sleeve having an open lower endsimilar to the sleeve of FIG. 38 except having no bonding material on aninner surface.

FIG. 43 is a cross-sectional view of the pot cover and pot of FIG. 41disposed in the sleeve of FIG. 42 wherein an outer surface of the potcover is connected to the inner surface of the sleeve via bondingmaterial on the outer surface of the pot cover.

FIG. 44 is a cross-sectional view of a pot cover and pot such as thatshown in FIG. 41 disposed in the sleeve of FIG. 38 wherein the bondingmaterial of the pot cover engages the bonding material on the sleeve.

FIG. 45 is a cross-sectional view of a pot having a bonding material ona portion of an outer surface thereof.

FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view of a preformed pot cover having nobonding material thereon.

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view of the pot of FIG. 45 disposed withinthe preformed pot cover of FIG. 46 wherein the cover and pot areconnected via the bonding material on the pot.

FIG. 48 is a cross-sectional view of the pot and preformed pot cover ofFIG. 47 disposed within the sleeve of FIG. 38 wherein the preformed potcover is connected to the sleeve via bonding material on the innersurface of the sleeve.

FIG. 49 is a cross-sectional view of a preformed pot cover havingbonding material on a portion of an outer surface thereof.

FIG. 50 is a cross-sectional view of the pot of FIG. 45 disposed withinthe pot cover of FIG. 49 wherein the pot is connected to an innersurface of the pot cover via bonding material on the pot.

FIG. 51 is a cross-sectional view of the pot cover and pot of FIG. 50disposed within the sleeve of FIG. 42 wherein the bonding material onthe outer surface of the pot cover bonds to a portion of the innersurface of the sleeve.

FIG. 52 is a cross-sectional view of the pot of FIG. 45 disposed withinthe pot cover of FIG. 40 wherein the pot is connected to an innersurface of the pot cover via the bonding material disposed on a portionof the outer surface of the pot.

FIG. 53 is a cross-sectional view of the pot cover and pot of FIG. 50disposed within a sleeve exactly the same as the sleeve shown in FIG. 38wherein the bonding material on the outer surface of the pot coverconnects with the bonding material on the inner surface of the sleeve.

FIG. 54 is a perspective view of an apparatus for pulling a sleeve abouta pot cover.

FIG. 55 is a perspective view showing another step in using theapparatus of FIG. 54.

FIG. 56 is a perspective view of a plant package constructed inaccordance with the present invention showing a sleeve connected to apotted plant via a bonding material on a lower end of the sleeve.

FIG. 57 is a perspective view of a sleeve connected to a potted plantvia a bonding material on an upper end of a pot.

FIG. 58 is a perspective view of a plant package having a sleeveconnected to a pot wherein a bonding material is on a lower end of thesleeve and on an upper end of the pot.

FIG. 59 is a perspective view of a plant package having a sleeveconnected to a pot wherein a bonding material is disposed on an innersurface and an outer surface of a lower end of the sleeve.

FIG. 60 is a partial cutaway, perspective view of a sleeve having anup-turned lower end and having a bonding material disposed upon aportion of the up-turned lower end and wherein the bonding material iscovered by a cover or release strip.

FIG. 61 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 60 disposed about apot with a portion of the release strip peeled away.

FIG. 62 is a perspective view of the sleeve and pot of FIG. 61 whereinthe release strip is completely removed from the bonding material.

FIG. 63 is a perspective view of the sleeve and pot of FIG. 62 whereinthe up-turned portion of the sleeve with the bonding material isdisposed partially downwardly about the pot.

FIG. 64 is a perspective view of the sleeve and pot of FIG. 63 whereinthe lower end of the sleeve is fully connected to the pot and a portionof the sleeve is detached at an upper end of the sleeve.

FIG. 65 is a perspective view of a preformed pot cover.

FIG. 66 is a perspective view of a preformed pot cover like the cover ofFIG. 65 but also having a bonding material disposed on a portion of aninner surface thereof.

FIG. 67 is a perspective view of the potted plant and sleeve of FIG. 64disposed in the preformed pot cover of either FIG. 65 or FIG. 66.

FIG. 68 is a perspective view of a potted plant disposed within adecorative cover.

FIG. 69 is a perspective view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a bonding material on aninner surface of the sleeve near an upper end of the sleeve and havingexpansion elements disposed within the sleeve.

FIG. 70 is a perspective view of the potted plant of FIG. 68 with theupper end of the sleeve of FIG. 69 connected to the pot cover by thebonding material on the sleeve.

FIG. 71 is a perspective view of the sleeve and potted plant of FIG. 70wherein a lower end of the sleeve has been pulled upwardly toward anupper end of the pot.

FIG. 72 is a perspective view of the sleeve and potted plant of FIG. 71after the sleeve has been pulled completely upwardly above the pot.

FIG. 73 is a perspective view of the sleeve and potted plant of FIG. 72after an upper portion of the sleeve has been detached leaving the lowerend of the sleeve attached to an outer surface of the potted plant.

FIG. 74 is a cross-sectional view of another version of a sleeveconstructed in accordance with the present invention wherein a separateskirt portion is connected to an inner surface of the sleeve via abonding material.

FIG. 75 is a perspective view of the sleeve and connected skirt of FIG.74.

FIG. 76 is a perspective view of a potted plant disposed upon a sheet ofmaterial having a bonding material on a portion of a lower surface ofthe sheet of material.

FIG. 77 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 76wrapped about the potted plant of FIG. 76 to form a pot cover havingbonding material on an outer surface thereof.

FIG. 78 is a perspective view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 79 is a perspective view of the potted plant of FIG. 77 disposedwithin the sleeve of FIG. 78 wherein the sleeve of FIG. 78 is connectedto an outer portion of the pot cover of FIG. 77 by the bonding materialon the outer surface of the cover.

FIG. 80 is a partial cutaway, perspective view of a sleeve constructedin accordance with the present invention, the sleeve having a bondingmaterial disposed upon portions of an inner surface thereof.

FIG. 81 is a perspective view of a covered pot such as the covered potof FIG. 77 disposed within the sleeve of FIG. 80 wherein the bondingmaterial on the cover is connected to the bonding material on thesleeve.

FIG. 82 is an elevational view of a sheet of material having a bondingmaterial near two edges of the sheet of material.

FIG. 83 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 82wrapped about a covered potted plant in accordance with the method ofthe present invention.

FIG. 84 is an elevational view of a sheet of material having a bondingmaterial disposed near three edges of the sheet of material.

FIG. 85 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 84wrapped about a covered potted plant to form a sleeve with an upper endof the sleeve partially sealed.

FIG. 86 is a perspective view of the sleeve formed from the sheet ofmaterial of FIG. 84 having the upper end thereof completely sealed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention contemplates a plant packaging system comprising acombination of a protective sleeve portion and a decorative coverportion having a base and skirt for packaging a potted plant. Theprotective sleeve portion can be detached from the decorative coverportion of the package system once the protective function of the sleeveportion has been completed, thereby exposing the decorative coverportion and allowing the skirt to extend angularly from the base. Theprotective sleeve portion and decorative cover portion may be of unitaryconstruction or may be separate components which are attached togetherby various bonding materials.

More specifically, the present invention contemplates a plant cover forcovering a pot having an outer peripheral surface. The plant covercomprises (1) a base portion having a lower end, an upper end, an outerperipheral surface, and an area of excess material for allowingextension of a portion of the base portion and having an openingextending from the upper end to the lower end, and (2) an upper portionextending from the upper end of the base portion and detachabletherefrom, and wherein when the upper portion is detached from the upperend of the base portion, the area of excess material expands causingportions of the base portion to extend angularly from the base. Ingeneral, the base portion is sized to substantially cover the outerperipheral surface of the pot. The upper portion may be detachable via adetaching element such as perforations, tear strips and zippers. Theplant cover may have an extended portion extending from the upperportion for serving as a handle or support device.

More particularly, the present invention may be a plant cover comprising(1) a base portion having a lower end, an upper end, and an outerperipheral surface and having an opening extending from the upper end tothe lower end, (2) an upper portion extending from the upper end of thebase portion and detachable therefrom, (3) and an expansion elementintegral to the base portion and optionally integral to the upperportion, for allowing expansion of a portion of the base portion into askirt portion extending angularly from the base portion when the upperportion is detached from the upper end of the base portion. Theexpansion element may be a plurality of vertical pleats, a plurality ofvertical folds each having a Z-shaped cross section, a plurality ofvertical accordion-type folds, or other similar types of expandableforms.

More particularly, the plant cover may comprise (1) a base portionhaving a lower end, an upper end, an outer peripheral surface, andhaving an opening extending from the upper end to the lower end, (2) askirt portion attached to the base portion and having an upper end andextending a distance beyond the upper end of the base portion, (3) anexpansion element integral to at least one of the skirt portion and thebase portion for enabling at least a portion of the skirt portion to beextended angularly from the base portion, and (4) an upper portionattached to the upper end of the skirt portion and detachable therefrom,and wherein when the upper portion is detached from the upper end of theskirt portion, the expansion element enables the skirt portion to beextended angularly from the base portion.

The present invention further contemplates a tubular sleeve forcontaining a pot assembly, and having a lower end, an upper end, anouter peripheral surface, and an inner peripheral surface surrounding aninner retaining space. The tubular sleeve may comprise (1) a baseportion having a lower end and an upper end and a retaining space forenclosing the pot assembly, and sized to substantially cover the potassembly, (2) a skirt portion extending beyond the upper end of the baseportion and continuous therewith and having an upper peripheral edge,and (3) an upper portion having an upper peripheral edge and a lowerperipheral edge, the lower peripheral edge connected to the upperperipheral edge of the skirt portion and detachable therefrom andextending a distance therefrom, and sized to substantially surround andencompass a floral grouping, and wherein when the upper portion isdetached from the upper peripheral edge of the skirt portion, the skirtportion extends angularly from the base portion.

The tubular sleeve may further comprise an expansion element integral toat least one of the skirt portion and the base portion for enhancing theangular extension of at least a portion of the skirt portion away fromthe base portion. The base portion and the skirt portion may beconstructed from a first material and the upper portion may beconstructed from a second material different from the first material.

The tubular sleeve may form part of a plant package when used inconjunction with a pot assembly disposed within the retaining space ofthe base portion of the tubular sleeve, the pot assembly having a floralgrouping disposed therein, and wherein the pot assembly is substantiallysurrounded and encompassed by the base portion and the floral groupingis substantially surrounded and encompassed by the upper portion.

The present invention further contemplates a plant cover comprising, (1)a base portion having a lower end, an upper end, an outer peripheralsurface, and having an opening extending from the upper end to the lowerend, (2) a skirt portion attached to the base portion and extending adistance beyond the upper end of the base portion, and (3) an upperportion connected to the outer peripheral surface of the base portionand extending from the upper end of the base portion and detachabletherefrom and substantially surrounding the skirt portion, and whereinwhen the upper portion is detached from the upper end of the baseportion, the skirt portion is exposed allowing the skirt portion toextend angularly from the base portion. Further, the base portion maycomprise a bonding material for bondingly connecting to the upperportion. Also, the base portion may comprise a bonding material forbondingly connecting to a pot disposed therein. Further, the upperportion may comprise a bonding material for bondingly connecting to thebase portion. The plant cover may further comprise part of a plantpackage which includes a pot disposed within the inner retaining spaceof the base portion, the pot having a floral grouping disposed therein,and wherein the pot is substantially surrounded and encompassed by thebase portion and the floral grouping is substantially surrounded andencompassed by the upper portion.

The present invention further contemplates a plant cover comprising (1)a tubular sleeve having a lower end, an upper end, an outer peripheralsurface, and an inner peripheral surface surrounding an inner retainingspace, and further comprising (a) a base portion for enclosing a pot,the base portion having an upper end and a lower end and sized tosubstantially cover the outer peripheral surface of the pot, and (b) anupper portion having an upper end and a lower end, the lower enddetachably connected to the upper end of the base portion and extendinga distance therefrom, and wherein the upper portion is sized tosubstantially surround and encompass a floral grouping disposed withinthe pot, and (2) a skirt portion positioned within the tubular sleeveand having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end attached to theinner peripheral surface of the base portion, the upper end of the skirtportion freely extending a distance beyond the upper end of the baseportion and substantially surrounded and encompassed by the upperportion and wherein when the upper portion is detached from the upperend of the base portion, the skirt portion is exposed allowing the skirtportion to be extended angularly from the upper end of the base portion.

The base portion and the skirt portion of the tubular sleeve may beconstructed from a first material and the upper portion constructed froma second material different from the first material. The base portionand the upper portion of the tubular sleeve may be constructed from afirst material and the skirt portion constructed from a second materialdifferent from the first material. The plant cover may comprise aportion of a plant package which additionally comprises a pot disposedwithin the tubular sleeve, the pot having a floral grouping disposedtherein, and wherein the pot is substantially surrounded and encompassedby the base portion and the floral grouping is substantially surroundedand encompassed by the upper portion.

These embodiments and others of the present invention are now describedin more detail below.

The Embodiments and Methods of Use of FIGS. 1-20

Shown in FIG. 1 and designated therein by the general reference numeral10 is a flexible bag or sleeve of unitary construction. The sleeve 10initially comprises a flexible flat collapsed piece of material which isopenable in the form of a tube or sleeve. The sleeve 10 may be taperedoutwardly from the lower end toward a larger diameter at its upper end.In its flattened state the sleeve 10 has an overall trapezoidal ormodified trapezoidal shape, and when opened is substantiallyfrusto-conical to coniform. It will be appreciated, however, that thesleeve 10 may comprise variations on the aforementioned shapes or maycomprise significantly altered shapes such as square or rectangular,wherein the sleeve 10 when opened has a cylindrical form, as long as thesleeve 10 functions in accordance with the present invention in themanner described herein.

The sleeve 10 has an upper end 12, a lower end 14, an outer peripheralsurface 16 and in its flattened state has a first side 18 and a secondside 20. The sleeve 10 has an opening 21 (FIG. 2) at the upper end 12and may be open at the lower end 14, or provided with excess material atleast sufficient to form a closed bottom of the sleeve 10 at the lowerend 14. The sleeve 10 also has an inner peripheral surface 22 which,when the sleeve 10 is opened, defines and encompasses an inner retainingspace 24 as shown in FIG. 2. When the lower end 14 of the sleeve 10 hasa closed bottom, a portion of the lower end 14 may be inwardly folded toform one or more gussets for permitting a circular bottom of an objectsuch as a potted plant 30 (FIGS. 2 and 4) to be disposed into the innerretaining space 24 of the lower end 14 of the sleeve 10.

The sleeve 10 is generally frusto-conically shaped, but the sleeve 10may be, by way of example but not by way of limitation, cylindrical,frusto-conical, a combination of both frusto-conical and cylindrical, orany other shape, as long as the sleeve 10 functions as described hereinas noted above. Further, the sleeve 10 may comprise any shape, whethergeometric, non-geometric, asymmetrical and/or fanciful as long as itfunctions in accordance with the present invention. The sleeve 10 mayalso be equipped with drains or ventilation holes (not shown), or can bemade from permeable or impermeable materials.

The material from which the sleeve 10 is constructed has a thickness ina range from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil. Often, the thickness of thesleeve 10 is in a range from about 0.5 mil to about 10 mil. Preferably,the sleeve 10 has a thickness in a range from about 1.0 mil to about 5mil. More preferably, the sleeve 10 is constructed from a material whichis flexible, semi-rigid, rigid, or any combination thereof. The sleeve10 may be constructed of a single layer of material or a plurality oflayers of the same or different types of materials. Any thickness of thematerial may be utilized as long as the material functions in accordancewith the present invention as described herein. The layers of materialcomprising the sleeve 10 may be connected together or laminated or maybe separate layers. Such materials used to construct the sleeve 10 aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping AFloral Grouping” issued to Weder et al., on May 12, 1992, which ishereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Any thickness ofmaterial may be utilized in accordance with the present invention aslong as the sleeve 10 may be formed as described herein, and as long asthe formed sleeve 10 may contain at least a portion of a pot 32 or thepotted plant 30 or a floral grouping, as described herein. Additionally,an insulating material such as bubble film, preferable as one of two ormore layers, can be utilized in order to provide additional protectionfor the item, such as the floral grouping, contained therein.

In one embodiment, the sleeve 10 may be constructed from twopolypropylene films. The material comprising the sleeve 10 may beconnected together or laminated or may be separate layers. In analternative embodiment, the sleeve 10 may be constructed from only oneof the polypropylene films.

The sleeve 10 may also be constructed, in whole or in part, from a clingmaterial. “Cling Wrap or Material” when used herein means any materialwhich is capable of connecting to the sheet of material and/or itselfupon contacting engagement during the wrapping process and is wrappableabout an item whereby portions of the cling material contactingly engageand connect to other portions of another material, or, alternatively,itself, for generally securing the material wrapped about at least aportion of the pot 32. This connecting engagement is preferablytemporary in that the material may be easily removed, i.e., the clingmaterial “clings” to the pot 32.

The cling material is constructed and treated if necessary, frompolyethylene such as Cling Wrap made by Glad®, First Brands Corporation,Danbury, Conn. The thickness of the cling material will, in part, dependupon the size of sleeve 10 and. the size of the pot 32 in the sleeve 10,i.e., generally, a larger pot 32 may require a thicker and thereforestronger cling material. The cling material will range in thickness fromless than about 0.1 mil to about 10 mil, and preferably less than about0.5 mil to about 2.5 mil and most preferably from less than about 0.6mil to about 2 mil. However, any thickness of cling material may beutilized in accordance with the present invention which permits thecling material to function as described herein.

The sleeve 10 is constructed from any suitable material that is capableof being formed into a sleeve and wrapped about the potted plant 30 orthe pot 32. Preferably, the material comprises paper (untreated ortreated in any manner), metal foil, polymeric film, non-polymeric film,fabric (woven or nonwoven or synthetic or natural), cardboard, fiber,cloth, burlap, or laminations or combinations thereof.

The term “polymeric film” means a material made of a synthetic polymersuch as a polypropylene or a naturally occurring polymer such ascellophane. A polymeric film is relatively strong and not as subject totearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paper orfoil.

The material employed in the construction of the sleeve 10 may vary incolor and may consist of designs or decorative patterns which areprinted, etched, and/or embossed thereon using inks or other printingmaterials. An example of an ink which may be applied to the surface ofthe material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 entitled “WaterBased Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic Organic Polymer” issued to Kingman onSep. 15, 1992, and which is hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

In addition, the material may have various colorings, coatings, flockingand/or metallic finishes, or other decorative surface ornamentationapplied separately or simultaneously or may be characterized totally orpartially by pearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent, neon, orthe like qualities. Each of the above-named characteristics may occuralone or in combination, and may be applied to the upper and/or lowersurface of the material comprising the sleeve 10. Moreover, portions ofthe material used in constructing the sleeve 10 may vary in thecombination of such characteristics. The material utilized for thesleeve 10 itself may be opaque, translucent, transparent, or partiallyclear or tinted transparent.

It will generally be desired to use the sleeve 10 as a covering for thepotted plant 30 (FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 3, the potted plant 30comprises the pot 32 having an upper rim 34, a lower end 36, an outerperipheral surface 38, and an inner peripheral surface which encompassesan inner retaining space 40 for retaining a floral grouping or plant 42.The lower end 36 of the pot 32 is closed but may have holes forpermitting water drainage. The term “pot” as used herein refers to anytype of container used for holding the floral grouping or plant 42.Examples of pots, used in accordance with the present invention include,but not by way of limitation, clay pots, wooden pots, plastic pots, potsmade from natural and/or synthetic fibers, or any combination thereof.The pot 32 is adapted to receive the floral grouping 42 in the innerretaining space 40. The floral grouping 42 may be disposed within thepot 32 along with a suitable growing medium described in further detailbelow, or other retaining medium, such as a floral foam. It will also beunderstood that the floral grouping 42, and any appropriate growingmedium or other retaining medium, may be disposed in the sleeve 10without the pot 32.

The term “floral grouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers,artificial flowers, a single flower, or other fresh and/or artificialplants, or other floral materials and may include other secondary plantsand/or ornamentation or artificial or natural materials which add to theaesthetics of the overall floral grouping. The floral grouping 42comprises a bloom or foliage portion and a stem portion. Further, thefloral grouping 42 may comprise a growing potted plant having a rootportion (not shown) as well. However, it will be appreciated that thefloral grouping may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage, or abotanical item (not shown), or a propagule (not shown). The term “floralgrouping” may be used interchangeably herein with both the terms “floralarrangement” and “potted plant”. The term “floral grouping” may also beused interchangeably herein with the terms “botanical item” and/or“propagule.”

The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid, solid orgaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation ofpropagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones, or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural or artificialherbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term“botanical item” also means any portion or portions of natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers,blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly, or incombination, or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floralgrouping.

The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capable ofbeing propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

In accordance with the present invention, a bonding material may bedisposed on a portion of the sleeve 10 to assist in holding the sleeve10 to the pot 32 having the floral grouping 42 therein when such a pot32 is disposed within the sleeve 10 or to assist in closing the upperend 12 of the sleeve 10 or adhering the sleeve 10 to the pot 32 afterthe pot 32 has been disposed therein, as will be discussed in furtherdetail below.

It will be understood that the bonding material may be disposed as astrip or block on a surface of the sleeve 10. The bonding material mayalso be disposed upon either the outer peripheral surface 16, or theinner peripheral surface 22 of the sleeve 10, as well as upon the pot32. Further, the bonding material may be disposed as spots of bondingmaterial, or in any other geometric, non-geometric, asymmetric, orfanciful form, and in any pattern including covering either the entireinner peripheral surface and/or outer peripheral surface of the sleeve10 and/or the pot or pot cover. The bonding material may be covered by acover or release strip which can be removed prior to the use of thesleeve, pot, or pot cover. The bonding material can be applied by meansknown to those of ordinary skill in their art. One method for disposinga bonding material, in this case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping” issued toWeder et al., on May 12, 1992, which has been incorporated by referenceabove.

The term “bonding material” when used herein means an adhesive,frequently a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. When thebonding material is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must beplaced on the adjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondinglyengaging with the cohesive material. The term “bonding material” alsoincludes materials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, theadjacent portions of the material must be brought into contact and thenheat must be applied to effect the seal. The term “bonding material”also includes materials which are sonic sealable and vibratory sealable.The term “bonding material” when used herein also means a heat sealinglacquer or hot melt material which may be applied to the material and,in this instance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be appliedto effect the sealing.

The term “bonding material” when used herein also means any type ofmaterial or thing which can be used to effect the bonding or connectingof the two adjacent portions of the material, or sheet of material toeffect the connection, or bonding described herein. The term “bondingmaterial” may also include ties, labels, bands, ribbons, strings, tapes(including single or double-sided adhesive tapes), staples, orcombinations thereof. Some of the bonding materials would secure theends of the material while other bonding material may bind thecircumference of a wrapper, or a sleeve, or, alternatively and/or inaddition, the bonding materials would secure overlapping folds in thematerial and/or sleeve. Another way to secure the wrapping and/or sleeveis to heat seal the ends of the material to another portion of thematerial. One way to do this is to contact the ends with an iron ofsufficient heat to heat seal the material.

Alternatively, a cold seal adhesive may be utilized as the bondingmaterial. The cold seal adhesive adheres only to a similar substrate,acting similarly as a cohesive, and binds only to itself. The cold sealadhesive, since it bonds only to a similar substrate, does not cause aresidue to build up on equipment, thereby both permitting much morerapid disposition and use of such equipment to form articles andreducing labor costs. Further, since no heat is required to effect theseal, the dwell time, that is, the time for the sheet of material toform and retain the shape of an article, such as a flower pot cover orflower pot, is reduced. A cold seal adhesive binds quickly and easilywith minimal pressure, and such a seal is not readily releasable. Thischaracteristic is different from, for example, a pressure sensitiveadhesive.

The term “bonding material” when used herein also means any heat orchemically shrinkable material, and static electrical or otherelectrical materials, chemical welding materials, magnetic materials,mechanical or barb-type fastening materials or clamps, curl-typecharacteristics of the film or materials incorporated in material whichcan cause the material to take on certain shapes, cling films, slots,grooves, shrinkable materials and bands, curl materials, springs, andany type of welding method which may weld portions of the material toitself or to the pot, or to both the material itself and the pot.

Certain versions of the sleeve 10 described herein may be used inconjunction with a preformed plant cover as explained in greater detailbelow.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sleeve 10 is demarcated into an upper portion 44having an outer surface area 45 and a lower portion 46 having an outersurface area 47. The lower portion 46 of the sleeve 10 is generallysized to contain and tapered to fit the potted plant 30 or pot 32. Theupper portion 44 of the sleeve 10 is sized to substantially surround andencompass the floral grouping 42 of the potted plant 30 disposed withinthe lower portion 46 of the sleeve 10. The sleeve 10 is demarcated intothe upper portion 44 and the lower portion 46 by a detaching element 48for enabling the detachment of the upper portion 44 of the sleeve 10from the lower portion 46 of the sleeve 10. In the present version, thedetaching element 48 is a plurality of generally laterally-oriented oralternatingly diagonally-oriented perforations which extendcircumferentially across the outer peripheral surface 16 of the sleeve10 from the first side 18 to the second side 20. The term “detachingelement,” as used generally herein, means any element, or combination ofelements, or features, such as, but not by way of limitation,perforations, tear strips, zippers, and any other devices or elements ofthis nature known in the art, or any combination thereof, which enablethe tearing away or detachment of one object from another. Therefore,while perforations are shown and described in detail herein, it will beunderstood that tear strips, zippers, or any other “detaching elements”known in the art, or any combination thereof, could be substitutedtherefore and/or used therewith.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the lowerportion 46 of the sleeve 10 further comprises a base portion 50, and askirt portion 52. The base portion 50 comprises that part of the lowerportion 46 which, when the pot 32 is placed into the lower portion 46,has an inner peripheral surface which is substantially adjacent to andsurrounds the outer peripheral surface 38 of the pot 32. The skirtportion 52 comprises that part of the lower portion 46 which comprises aplurality of portions 53 which extend beyond the upper rim 34 of the pot32 and adjacent at least a portion of the floral grouping 42 containedwithin the pot 32 and which is left to freely extend at an angle,inwardly or outwardly, from the base portion 50 when the upper portion44 of the sleeve 10 is detached from the lower portion 46 of the sleeve10 by actuation of the detaching element 48. In the intact sleeve 10,the skirt portion 52 comprises an upper peripheral edge congruent withthe detaching element 48 which is connected to a lower peripheral edge,also congruent with the detaching element 48, of the upper portion 44 ofthe sleeve 10. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper peripheral edge of the skirtportion 52 is congruent with a series of alternatinglydiagonally-oriented lines of perforations which together form a zig-zagand comprise the detaching element 48.

The upper portion 44 of the sleeve 10 may also have an additionaldetaching element 54 indicated as a plurality of vertical perforationsfor facilitating removal of the upper portion 44 and which are disposedmore or less vertically therein extending between the detaching element48 and the upper end 12 of the sleeve 10. The upper portion 44 of thesleeve 10 is separable from the lower portion 46 of the sleeve 10 bytearing the upper portion 44 along both the detaching element 54 and thedetaching element 48, thereby separating the upper portion 44 from thelower portion 46 of the sleeve 10. The lower portion 46 of the sleeve 10remains disposed as the base portion 50 about the pot 32 and as theskirt portion 52 about the floral grouping 42 forming a decorative cover56 as shown in FIG. 4 which substantially surrounds and encompasses theflower pot 32.

It will be understood that equipment and devices for forming floralsleeves are commercially available, and are well known to a person ofordinary skill in the art.

As noted above, the sleeve 10 may have an open or closed lower end 14.When the lower end 14 is closed the lower end 14 may have one or moregussets 60 formed therein such as that seen in sleeve 10 a in FIG. 5 forallowing expansion of the lower end 14 when an object with a broad lowerend such as the pot 32 is disposed therein. In another version of thepresent invention, as shown in sleeve 10 b in FIG. 6, a strip of bondingmaterial 62 may be disposed on the inner peripheral surface 22 of theupper portion 44 of the sleeve 10 b generally in the vicinity of theupper end 12 of the sleeve 10 b for allowing the upper end 12 to besealed for enclosing the upper portion 44 of the sleeve 10 b about afloral grouping disposed therein. In another version of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 7, a sleeve 10 c comprises a flap 64 positionedat the upper end 12 which can be folded over and sealed with a flapbonding strip 66 to an adjacent portion of the outer peripheral surface16 of the sleeve 10 c near the upper end 12 thereof. Other versions ofthe sleeve (not shown) may comprise ventilation holes or drainage holes58 for allowing movement of gases or moisture to and away from the innerspace of the sleeve.

In another version of the present invention, shown in FIG. 8, a sleeve10 d is exactly like the sleeve 10, but further comprises an inner stripof bonding material 68 disposed upon a portion of the inner peripheralsurface 22 of the base portion 50 of the sleeve 10 d. The strip ofbonding material 68 functions to enable the inner peripheral surface 22,or a portion thereof, to be bondingly connected to the outer peripheralsurface 38 of the pot 32 disposed therein causing the sleeve 10 d to bebondingly connected to the pot 32.

In yet another version of the present invention, shown in FIGS. 9-13, abonding material 70 is disposed on a portion of the outer peripheralsurface 16 of the base portion 50 of a sleeve 10 e. After the pot 32 isdisposed in the inner retaining space 24 of the base portion 50, thesleeve 10 e is manually or automatically crimped about the outerperipheral surface 38 of the pot 32 in the vicinity of the bondingmaterial 70 thereby forming overlapping folds 72 in the base portion 50which are bondingly connected together by the bonding material 70 to addstructural integrity to the base portion 50 and to cooperate to hold thebase portion 50 in the shape of a pot cover or for causing the baseportion 50 of the sleeve 10 e to engage the outer peripheral surface 38of the pot 32 and be held firmly thereabout. The bonding material 70 maybe disposed on the sleeve 10 e at a position below the upper rim 34 ofthe pot 32 (FIGS. 9-11) or may be disposed at a position on the baseportion 50 of the sleeve 10 e above the upper rim 34 of the pot 32 (suchas shown in FIGS. 12-13) such that the overlapping folds 72 crimpinglyformed are located in a position generally above the upper rim 34 of thepot 32.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 14, the sleeve designated as 10 f,may further comprise an extended portion comprising a support extension76 which extends away from a portion of the upper end 12 of the sleeve10 f. The support extension 76 has one or more apertures 78 disposedtherein thereby adapting the sleeve 10 f to be supported on a supportassembly (not shown) commercially available and known by one of ordinaryskill in the art such as a pair of wickets for shipment, storage,assembly of the sleeve 10 f, placement of the pot 32 within the sleeve10 f, or other functions known in the art. The support extension 76 mayhave a plurality of perforations 80 or other detaching elements forallowing the support extension 76 to be removed from the upper end 12 ofthe sleeve 10 f after the sleeve 10 f has been provided for use asdescribed elsewhere herein. In another version of the invention, shownin FIG. 15, a sleeve 10 g has an extended portion comprising a handle 82for carrying the potted plant package inside the sleeve 10 g. The sleeve10 g may further comprise a detaching element 84 comprising perforationsfor removing the handle 82 at a later time.

Other versions of the present invention shown in FIGS. 16-19, maycomprise additional perforated areas for enhancing angularity of theextension of the skirt portion away from the base portion after theupper portion of the sleeve has been detached. For example, sleeve 10 hin FIG. 16 comprises perforations 86 which extend vertically downwardfrom the downward-pointing apexes 88 in the detaching element 48,comprising lateral perforations, which demarcates the upper peripheraledge of the skirt portion 52 of the sleeve 10 h. After the upper portion44 of the sleeve 10 h is detached, the perforations 86 are open,allowing adjacent portions of the skirt portion 52 to be deflected at anincreased angle to the base portion 50 as shown in FIG. 17.

Similarly, sleeve 10 i in FIG. 18 comprises notch perforations 90 whichallow the removal of a notch of material 92 in the vicinity of thedownward-pointing apexes 88 in the detaching element 48, comprisinglateral perforations, which demarcates the upper peripheral edge of theskirt portion 52 of the sleeve 10 i. After the upper portion 44 of thesleeve 10 i is detached, the notches 92 are removed, allowing theadjacent portions of the skirt portion 52 to be deflected at anincreased angle to the base portion 50 as shown in FIG. 19.

Sleeve 10 j, shown in FIG. 20, is an example of a sleeve constructedgenerally in accordance with the invention as described herein exceptthe sleeve 10 j has an upper portion 94 which is constructed of amaterial different from a lower portion 95. The upper portion 94 andlower portion 95 are shown as bondingly connected along a sealed area96. The upper portion 94, along with a portion of the lower portion 95may be disconnected from each other via a detaching element such asperforations 97 and 98, as described earlier.

Embodiments and Methods of Use of FIGS. 21-34

Attention is now drawn to the sleeve shown in FIG. 21 which isdesignated by the general reference numeral 100. The sleeve 100comprises a unitary construction and has a base portion 102 having asidewall 103, skirt portion 104, a sleeve portion 106 and at least oneexpansion element 108 and further has an outer peripheral surface 110,an open upper end 112 and a lower end 114 which may or may not be openor closed. The sleeve 100 has an inner retaining space 116 which extendsfrom the open upper end 112 to the lower end 114 and which isencompassed by an inner peripheral surface 118 of the sleeve 100. Thebase portion 102 is sized to substantially cover the outer peripheralsurface 38 of the pot 32, and the sleeve portion 106 is sized tosubstantially surround the floral grouping 42 within the pot 32 which isdisposed within the inner retaining space 116 of the sleeve 100.

The sleeve portion 106 extends from and is attached to the upper end 120of the skirt portion 104 and is detachable therefrom via a detachingelement 122 such as one described in detail above. The expansion element108 is integral to at least one of the base portion 102 and the skirtportion 104 and may extend into the sleeve portion 106 as shown in FIG.21. The expansion element 108 functions to allow expansion of a portionof the skirt portion 104 of the sleeve 100 into a skirt 124, such as theskirt 124 of a decorative cover 126 formed therefrom and shown in FIG.22 which extends angularly from the base portion 102 when the sleeveportion 106 is detached from the upper end 120 of the skirt portion 104.

As shown in FIG. 21, each expansion element 108 of the sleeve 100comprises one or more areas of excess material shaped in the form of apleat which extends from the base portion 102 to the upper end 112 ofthe sleeve 100. As used herein, the term “excess material” means anamount of material which has a greater surface area than would actuallybe necessary to form that portion of the plant covering were thatportion of the plant covering actually flattened. The expansion element108 can expand causing portions of the skirt portion 104 to extendangularly from the base portion 102 forming the skirt 124 and thedecorative cover 126 about a portion of the floral grouping 42 of thepotted plant 30 as shown in FIG. 22. It should be noted that althoughthe illustrated floral grouping 42 of FIG. 2 and others are differentfrom the floral group illustrated in, for example, FIG. 22, no practicaldifference is intended. The expansion element 108 may further comprise aplurality of detachable notches such as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 and asexplained above.

Shown in FIG. 23 is a sleeve designated by the reference numeral 100 awhich is exactly the same as sleeve 100 except that sleeve 100 a has aplurality of expansion elements 108 a which do not extend from the baseportion 102 a all the way to the upper end 112 a of the sleeve portion106 a of the sleeve 100 a but only to a position below the upper end 112a of the sleeve 100 a. Shown in FIG. 24 is a cross-section through thesleeve 100 a which reveals the pleated nature of the expansion elements108 a therein. When the sleeve portion 106 a is removed, the expansionelements 108 a can expand as for sleeve 100 as described above causingportions of the skirt portion 104 a to extend angularly from the baseportion 102 a forming a skirt (not shown—a skirt exactly the same as theskirt 124 of the decorative cover 126 shown in FIG. 22).

Attention is now drawn to FIG. 25 and to the sleeve shown therein whichis designated by the general reference numeral 100 b. Sleeve 100 b isexactly the same as sleeve 100 except that the sleeve 100 b has aplurality of Z-shaped expansion elements 108 b. As for expansion element108 of sleeve 100, the expansion elements 108 b of sleeve 100 b canexpand causing portions of a skirt portion 104 b to extend angularlyfrom a base portion 102 b forming a skirt 124 b in a decorative cover126 b about a portion of the floral grouping 42 of the potted plant 30as shown in FIG. 26.

Similarly, shown in FIG. 27 is a sleeve designated by the referencenumeral 100 c and which is exactly the same as sleeve 100 b except thatsleeve 100 c has a plurality of expansion elements 108 c which do notextend from the base portion 102 c all the way to an upper end 112 c ofan upper portion 106 c of the sleeve 100 c but only to a position belowthe upper end 112 c of the sleeve 100 c. Shown in FIG. 28 is across-section through the sleeve 100 c of FIG. 27 which reveals theZ-shaped nature of the expansion elements 108 c therein. When the upperportion 106 c is removed, the expansion elements 108 c can expand as forsleeve 100 b causing portions of a skirt portion 104 c to extendangularly from the base portion 102 c forming a skirt exactly the sameas the skirt 124 b of the decorative cover 126 b shown in FIG. 26.

Attention is now drawn to FIG. 29 and to the sleeve shown therein whichis designated by the general reference numeral 100 d. Sleeve 100 d isexactly the same as sleeve 100 except that the sleeve 100 d has aplurality of fluted or groove-shaped expansion elements 108 d. As forexpansion element 108 of sleeve 100, the expansion elements 108 d ofsleeve 100 d can expand causing portions of a skirt portion 104 d toextend angularly from a base portion 102 d forming a skirt 124 d of adecorative cover 126 d about a portion of the floral grouping 42 of thepotted plant 30 as shown in FIG. 30.

Similarly, shown in FIG. 31, is a sleeve designated by the referencenumeral 100 e and which is exactly the same as sleeve 100 d except thatsleeve 100 e has a plurality of expansion elements 108 e which do notextend from a base portion 102 e all the way to an upper end 112 e of anupper sleeve portion 106 e of the sleeve 100 e but only to a positionbelow the upper end 112 e of the sleeve 100 e. Shown in FIG. 32 is across-section through the sleeve 100 e of FIG. 31 which reveals thefluted nature of the expansion elements 108 e therein. When the upperportion 106 e is removed, the expansion elements 108 e can expand as forsleeve 100 d causing portions of the skirt portion 104 e to extendangularly from the base portion 102 e forming a skirt exactly the sameas skirt 124 d of the decorative cover 126 d shown in FIG. 30.

It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that theshapes of the expansion elements described above are but several of theshapes which can be contemplated for the present invention. Other shapeswhich may be contemplated are gussets, fans, and “accordion-folds” toname but a few.

Each of the sleeves 100-100 e may further comprise a support extension130 which extends away from a portion of the upper end of the sleevesuch as for the sleeve 100 f as shown in FIG. 33. The support extension130 has one or more apertures 132 disposed therein for allowing thesleeve 100 f to be supported on a support assembly 134 which maycomprise, for example, a pair of wickets 136 for shipment, storage,assembly of the sleeve 100 f, placement of a pot within the sleeve 100f, or other functions known in the art. The support extension 130 mayhave a plurality of perforations 138 or other detaching elements forallowing the support extension 130 to be removed from the sleeve 100 fafter the sleeve 100 f has been provided for use as described elsewhereherein. In another version of the invention, and applicable to any ofthe sleeves described above, or elsewhere herein, shown in FIG. 34 is asleeve 100 g which has a handle 140 for carrying the potted plantpackage by the sleeve 100 g. The sleeve 100 g further comprises adetaching element 142 comprising perforations for removing a handle 140at a later time.

As noted above, the protective sleeve and decorative cover components ofthe present invention may comprise a unitary construction, as describedin the versions of the invention exemplified in FIGS. 1-34, or maycomprise separately formed components which are attached together byvarious bonding materials, as described below.

For example, the invention may comprise, in one series of embodiments, asleeve-cover combination and a method for packaging a pot or pottedplant. In the method, a preformed decorative plant cover is provided.The plant cover has a bonding material disposed upon a portion of itsinner peripheral surface for bonding the cover to the outer peripheralsurface of a pot. In one embodiment, a bonding material is also disposedupon a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the pot. In the casewhere a decorative cover is provided which does not have a bondingmaterial disposed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, a pot havinga bonding material disposed upon a portion of the outer peripheralsurface thereof is provided for bonding to a portion of the innerperipheral surface of the decorative cover. The pot is inserted into thepot retaining space of the preformed pot cover whereby the bondingmaterial engages the inner peripheral surface of the cover and bondinglyconnects the outer peripheral surface of the pot thereto providing acovered pot.

In the next step of the method, a sleeve portion is provided forapplying to the covered pot for providing protection to the plantalready, or soon to be, disposed within the retaining space of the pot.The sleeve portion is preferably an open-ended, frusto-conically shaped,or semi frusto-conically shaped, tube similar to sleeves well-known topersons of ordinary skill in the art. The sleeve may be free of anybonding material disposed thereon, or a bonding material may be disposedon a portion of the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve, preferablynear the lower end of the sleeve. The sleeve is opened and the coveredpot, as described, is deposited into the inner retaining space of thesleeve. As noted above, the decorative cover which covers the pot mayhave a bonding material disposed upon a portion of the outer peripheralsurface thereof.

In one version of the method, a covered pot free of anyexternally-disposed bonding material is deposited into a sleeve having abonding material disposed on a portion of the inner peripheral surfacethereof. As the covered pot is moved downwardly into the sleeve, thebonding material on the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve engages aportion of the outer peripheral surface of the cover causing the sleeveto be bondingly connected to the cover disposed about the covered plant.Preferably, the sleeve bondingly engages a portion of the cover near theupper end of the base portion of the cover yet below the skirt portionof the cover to allow free extension of the skirt portion of the cover.

In an alternative version of the invention, as noted above, the bondingmaterial may be disposed on the outer surface of the cover of thecovered pot while the sleeve may be free of a bonding material. In thiscase, when the covered pot is disposed into the open sleeve, the bondingmaterial on the outer peripheral surface of the cover engages a portionof the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve causing the sleeve to bebondingly connected to the cover of the covered plant. Again, preferablythe sleeve bondingly engages a portion of the cover near the upper endof the base portion of the cover yet below the skirt portion of thecover.

In yet another version of the method of the present invention, thebonding material may be disposed on both the outer surface of thecovered pot and the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve. In such acase, preferably the bonding material both of the cover and the sleeveis a cohesive which allows bonding to itself but not to dissimilarsurfaces. The embodiments of the sleeve/cover combination or packagebriefly described above are described in more detail below in relationto FIGS. 35-57.

Embodiments of FIGS. 35-44

Attention is now drawn to the embodiments of the present invention asshown in FIGS. 35-39. Represented by the general reference numeral 150in FIG. 35 is a pot. The pot 150 has an upper end 152, a lower end 154,an outer peripheral surface 156, an upper opening 158, and an innerretaining space 160. Shown in FIGS. 36 and 37 is a plant cover referredto by the general reference numeral 162. The plant cover 162 has anouter peripheral surface 164, an upper end 166, a lower end 168, a baseportion 170 sized generally to accommodate pot 150, a skirt portion 172which extends from the base portion 170, an upper opening 174, an inneror pot retaining space 176, an inner peripheral surface 178, and abonding material 180 which is disposed upon at least a portion of theinner peripheral surface 178. Shown in FIG. 37 is the pot 150 which hasbeen inserted into the pot retaining space 176 of the plant cover 162.

As indicated in FIG. 37 the bonding material 180 on the inner peripheralsurface 178 of the plant cover 162 is bondingly connected to the outerperipheral surface 156 of the pot 150. The bonding material 180 is shownin the Figures as being preferably disposed near an upper end of thebase portion 170 of the plant cover 162 wherein the bonding material 180bonds at a position near the upper end 152 of the pot 150. However, thebonding material 180 may be disposed at other locations on the innerperipheral surface 178 of the plant cover 162 for bonding to otherpositions or points of the outer peripheral surface 156 of the pot 150.

Shown in FIG. 38 is a sleeve designated by the reference numeral 182.The sleeve 182 has an upper end 184, an upper opening 186, a lower end188, a lower opening 190, an outer peripheral surface 192, an innerperipheral surface 194, and an inner retaining space 196 which isencompassed generally by the inner peripheral surface 194. A bondingmaterial 198 is disposed upon a portion of the inner peripheral surface194. In FIG. 38 the bonding material 198 is shown disposed on the innerperipheral surface 194 near the lower end 188 of the sleeve 182, but itwill be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that thebonding material 198 may be disposed elsewhere on the inner peripheralsurface 194 of the sleeve 182.

Sleeve 182 further comprises lateral perforations 200 and verticalperforations 202 for allowing detachment of an upper portion of thesleeve 182. Perforations 202 may also represent other forms of detachingelements for detaching the upper portion of the sleeve 182. FIG. 39shows a sleeve/cover package 204 comprising the plant cover 162 and pot150 as shown in FIG. 37 and the sleeve 182 as shown in FIG. 38 after thepot 150 and plant cover 162 have been inserted into the inner retainingspace 196 of the sleeve 182. As shown in FIG. 39, the bonding material198 bondingly connects a portion of the outer peripheral surface 164 ofthe plant cover 162 to the inner peripheral surface 194 of the sleeve182 at a position generally near an upper end of the base portion 170 ofthe plant cover 162. Once the plant cover 162 with the pot 150 thereinhas been disposed into the inner retaining space 196 of the sleeve 182,the skirt portion 172 of the plant cover 162 is substantially surroundedand encompassed by the sleeve 182. As will be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art, a portion of the sleeve portion 182 can beremoved from the sleeve/cover package 204 when it is desired todecoratively display a plant contained within the pot 150.

Shown in FIG. 40 is a preformed plant cover represented by the generalreference numeral 162 a. The plant cover 162 a is exactly the same asthe plant cover 162 shown in FIG. 36 except that the plant cover 162 ahas an outer bonding material 181 a disposed on an outer peripheralsurface 164 a in addition to a bonding material 180 a which is disposedupon an inner peripheral surface 178 a of the plant cover 162 a. Shownin FIG. 41 is a pot 150 which has been disposed within a pot retainingspace 176 a of the plant cover 162 a wherein the bonding material 180 aof the plant cover 162 a has bondingly connected to a portion of theouter peripheral surface 156 of the pot 150. The bonding material 181 ais shown on the outer peripheral surface 164 a of the plant cover 162 a.

Shown in FIG. 42 is a sleeve 182 a having an outer peripheral surface192 a, a lower end 188 a, and an inner peripheral surface 194 a. Thesleeve 182 a is exactly the same as the sleeve 182 shown in FIG. 38except that sleeve 182 a does not have a bonding material disposed onthe inner peripheral surface 194 a near the lower end 188 a of thesleeve 182 a. FIG. 43 shows a sleeve/cover package 204 a combinationexactly as shown in FIG. 41 which has been disposed into an innerretaining space 196 a of the sleeve 182 a wherein the bonding material181 a on the outer peripheral surface 164 a of the plant cover 162 a hasbondingly connected to a portion of the inner peripheral surface 194 aof the sleeve 182 a to form the sleeve/cover package 204 a. As before,the skirt portion 172 a of the plant cover 162 a is substantiallysurrounded and encompassed by the sleeve 182 a.

Shown in FIG. 44 is a sleeve/cover package 204 b which is comprised ofthe pot 150 as described above, a plant cover 162 a as described abovein FIG. 40 and a sleeve 182 as described above in FIG. 38. Sleeve/coverpackage 204 b thus comprises the plant cover 162 a having the bondingmaterial 181 a on the outer peripheral surface 164 a thereof, which isbondingly connected to the bonding material 198 which is on a portion ofthe inner peripheral surface 194 of the sleeve 182. In a preferredembodiment, the bonding materials 181 a and 198 of sleeve/cover package204 b are cohesive materials but may be any bonding material describedpreviously herein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 45-55

Shown in FIG. 45 is a pot designated by the reference numeral 150 awhich is exactly the same as pot 150 described previously herein exceptthat the pot 150 a, which has an upper end 152 a, a lower end 154 a, andan outer peripheral surface 156 a, also has a bonding material 161 adisposed on at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface 156 a.Shown in FIG. 46 is a preformed plant cover designated by the generalreference numeral 162 b which has an outer peripheral surface 164 b, abase portion 170 b, a skirt portion 172 b and an inner peripheralsurface 178 b. The plant cover 162 b is exactly the same as the plantcover 162 except that the plant cover 162 b does not have a bondingmaterial such as the bonding material 180 disposed upon a portion of theinner peripheral surface 178 b.

Shown in FIG. 47 is the plant cover 162 b with the pot 150 a disposedtherein, wherein the bonding material 161 a of the pot 150 a isbondingly connected to a portion of the inner peripheral surface 178 bof the plant cover 162 b. Shown in FIG. 48 is a sleeve/cover package 204c which is comprised of the plant cover 162 b having the pot 150 atherein as shown in FIG. 47 and the sleeve 182 as shown in FIG. 38 whichhas the inner peripheral surface 194 and the bonding material 198disposed upon a portion of the inner peripheral surface 194. The bondingmaterial 198 of the sleeve 182 is bondingly connected to a portion ofthe outer peripheral surface 164 b of the base portion 170 b of theplant cover 162 b. The skirt portion 172 b of the plant cover 162 b isthus substantially surrounded and encompassed by the sleeve 182.

Shown in FIGS. 49 and 50 is a plant cover 162 c having an outerperipheral surface 164 c, a base portion 170 c, a skirt portion 172 c,and an inner peripheral surface 178 c. The plant cover 162 c is exactlythe same as the plant cover 162 b of FIG. 46 except that the plant cover162 c further comprises a bonding material 181 c disposed upon theportion of the outer peripheral surface 164 c of the cover 162 c. Shownin FIG. 50 is the plant cover 162 c containing the pot 150 a (FIG. 45).The pot 150 a is bondingly connected to the inner peripheral surface 178c of the plant cover 162 c via the bonding material 161 a as describedpreviously. Shown in FIG. 51 is sleeve/cover package 204 d. Thesleeve/cover package 204 d comprises the pot 150 a contained within theplant cover 162 c as described in FIG. 50 which is disposed in the innerretaining space 196 a of sleeve 182 a shown in FIG. 42. A portion of theinner peripheral surface 194 a of the sleeve 182 a is bondinglyconnected to a portion of the outer peripheral surface 164 c of theplant cover 162 c via the bonding material 181 c. The skirt portion 172c of the plant cover 162 c is substantially surrounded and encompassedby the sleeve 182 a.

Shown in FIG. 52 is the pot 150 a disposed within the pot retainingspace 176 a of a plant cover 162 a shown in FIG. 40. The plant cover 162a comprises the bonding material 180 a disposed on the inner peripheralsurface 178 a thereof and the bonding material 181 a disposed on theouter peripheral surface 164 a thereof. The bonding material 161 a ofthe pot 150 a is connected to the bonding material 180 a of the plantcover 162 a. The pot 150 a and cover 162 a may be disposed within asleeve such as sleeve 182 or sleeve 182 a.

Shown in FIG. 53 is a sleeve/cover package 204 e comprising the pot 150a and plant cover 162 c disposed within the inner retaining space 196 ofthe sleeve 182 described in FIG. 38 previously. As indicated in FIG. 53,the bonding material 181 c of the plant cover 162 c is bondinglyconnected to the bonding material 198 of the sleeve 182 therebyconnecting the outer peripheral surface 164 c of the plant cover 162 cto a portion of the inner peripheral surface 194 of the sleeve 182. Asdiscussed previously, in the case of using a plant cover having abonding material on the outer peripheral surface thereof along with asleeve having a bonding material on the inner peripheral surfacethereof, preferably the bonding material is a cohesive. It will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that other combinations ofpots, covers and sleeves other than those specifically delineated hereinare practicable and are well within the spirit of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Shown in FIGS. 54 and 55 is one example of a method and apparatus whichcan be used to cause a sleeve to be attached to the outer peripheralsurface of a decorative cover surrounding a potted plant. A pedestal isrepresented by the reference numeral 210. The pedestal 210 is comprisedof a post 212, a base 214 and a pot support surface 216. A potted plant218 is placed upon the pot support surface 216, the potted plant 218having a bonding material 220 disposed on the outer peripheral surfaceof the cover of the potted plant 218. A plurality of sleeves 222 isdisposed upon the pedestal 210 near the base 214. A single sleeve 224 iscaused to be brought up around the outside of the potted plant 218. Theindividual sleeve 224 has an inner peripheral surface 226, an upper end228, and a bonding material 230 disposed upon a portion of the innerperipheral surface 226 preferably near the lower end of the sleeve 224.Shown in FIG. 55 is a sleeve 224 which has been brought up about theexterior of the potted plant 218 wherein the bonding material 230 on thesleeve 224 is caused to be bondingly connected to the bonding material220 on the exterior surface of the potted plant 218. The sleeve 224 andthe potted plant 218 together comprise a sleeve and cover package 232.

Embodiments of FIGS. 56-67

Shown in FIG. 56 and represented by the general reference numeral 238 isa sleeve/plant package comprising a pot 240 and a sleeve 242. The sleeve242 has an outer peripheral surface 244, an inner peripheral surface246, a lower end 248, an upper end 250, a plurality of perforations 252and an inner bonding material 254 disposed on a portion of the innerperipheral surface 246 thereof. The inner bonding material 254 serves tobondingly connect the lower end 248 of the sleeve 242 to a portion ofthe pot 240, preferably an upper end of the pot 240. It will also beappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the object asrepresented by the pot 240 could also be a pot covered with a decorativepot cover as described elsewhere herein. In that case the bondingmaterial 254 on the sleeve 242 would bondingly connect the innerperipheral surface 246 of the sleeve 242 to a portion of the outerperipheral surface of the decorative cover surrounding the pot 240.

An alternative embodiment of a sleeve 242 a of a sleeve/plant package238 a is shown in FIG. 57. In this embodiment of the sleeve/plantpackage 238 a, the sleeve 242 a has no bonding material thereon.Instead, a bonding material 256 a is disposed on a portion of an outerperipheral surface 241 a of a pot 240 a for bondingly connecting thesleeve 242 a to the pot 240 a. An additional embodiment is representedin FIG. 58 by a sleeve/plant package designated by the reference numeral238 b. The sleeve/plant package 238 b comprises a sleeve 242 b having abonding material 254 b disposed on a portion of an inner peripheralsurface 246 b of the sleeve 242 b. In addition, the pot 240 a has abonding material 256 a disposed on a portion of an outer peripheralsurface 241 a of the pot 240 a. Together the bonding materials 254 b and256 a, which preferably are cohesives, cause the sleeve 242 b to bebondingly connected to the pot 240 a.

Shown in FIG. 59 is yet another version of the present inventioncomprising a sleeve/plant package designated by the reference numeral238 c. The sleeve/plant package 238 c comprises a sleeve 242 c and a pot240. The sleeve 242 c has both an inner bonding material 254 c which isdisposed upon a portion of an inner peripheral surface 246 c of thesleeve 242 c and an outer bonding material 258 c which is disposed upona portion of an outer peripheral surface 244 c of the sleeve 242 c. Asnoted above, any of the sleeve/plant packages 238, 238 a, 238 b, and 238c may comprise a potted plant having a decorative pot cover in lieu ofthe pot 240 or 240 a to which the aforementioned sleeves are attached.

An alternate version of a sleeve as used in the present invention isshown in FIGS. 60, 61, 62, 63 and 64, and is designated by the generalreference numeral 260. The sleeve 260 comprises an upper end 262, alower end 264, an outer peripheral surface 266, an inner peripheralsurface 268, a plurality of perforations or other detaching element 270,an inverted portion 272 (FIGS. 60-63) disposed at the lower end 264 anda cover strip 274 (FIGS. 61 and 62) which conceals a bonding material276 (FIGS. 61-63) disposed upon an external portion 277 of the invertedportion 272. In use, as shown in FIG. 61, the sleeve 260 is disposedabout the pot 240 wherein a portion of the lower end 264 of the sleeve260 is placed adjacent a portion of an outer peripheral surface 241 ofthe pot 240. The cover strip 274 can then be removed revealing thebonding material 276 disposed upon a portion of an externally facingportion 277 of the inverted portion 272, as shown in FIGS. 61 and 62.The inverted portion 272 is then turned down as shown in FIG. 63 whereinthe bonding material 276 is caused to face a portion of the outerperipheral surface 241 of the pot 240. Finally, shown in FIG. 64, is asleeve/plant package 278 which is produced when the sleeve 260 isbondingly connected at the lower end 264 thereof to the pot 240.

Shown in FIGS. 65 and 66 are two pot covers 280 and 280 a, respectively.The pot cover 280 shown in FIG. 65 is a pot cover such as those wellknown in the art and described previously herein and having a retainingspace 282. The pot cover 280 a has a retaining space 282 a and a bondingmaterial 284 disposed upon a portion of an inner peripheral surface 285of the pot cover 280 a. Any of the sleeve plant packages shownpreviously in FIGS. 56-64 may be disposed in either of the pot covers280 or 280 a. For example, sleeve/plant packages 238, 238 a, 238 b, and278 may be disposed in the pot retaining space 282 a of the pot cover280 a. The bonding material 284 disposed on the inner peripheral surface285 of the pot cover 280 a can be caused to bondingly connect to aportion of the sleeve/plant package 238, 238 a, 238 b or 278,sleeve/plant package 278 being shown, resulting in the sleeve/plantpackage 286 shown in FIG. 67. Alternatively, the sleeve/plant package238 c which has the bonding material 258 c disposed on the outerperipheral surface 244 thereof can be disposed in pot cover 280. The potcover 280, having no adhesive or bonding material disposed thereon, isbondingly connected to the sleeve/plant package 238 c via the bondingmaterial 258 c.

Embodiments of FIGS. 68-73

Another version of the present invention and its use thereof is shown inFIGS. 68-73. FIG. 68 shows a covered potted plant designated by thegeneral reference numeral 288. The covered potted plant 288 is comprisedof a pot cover 290 which has a skirt portion 292, a base portion 294, anouter peripheral surface 296, and a retaining space 297. A potted plant298 is disposed within the retaining space 297 of the pot cover 290.Shown in FIG. 69 is a sleeve designated by the general reference numeral300 having a generally cylindrical shape and having an upper end 302, alower end 304, an outer peripheral surface 306, an inner peripheralsurface 308, a bonding material 310 disposed in the vicinity of theupper end 302, a vertical perforation 312 extending from near the upperend 302 to the lower end 304, a lateral perforation 314 extendingcircumferentially around the sleeve 300, and one or more expansionelements 316. In use the sleeve 300 is drawn up about the base portion294 of the covered potted plant 288 of FIG. 68 wherein the bondingmaterial 310 of the sleeve 300 is caused to be bondingly connected to aportion of the outer peripheral surface 296 of the pot cover 290 asshown in FIG. 70. The sleeve 300 can be then brought up about thecovered potted plant 288 by grasping the lower end 304 of the sleeve 300and drawing the lower end 304 in the direction 318 over the upper end ofthe covered potted plant 288 as shown in FIG. 71. Once fully drawn upabout the covered potted plant 288, the sleeve 300 encompasses the skirtportion 292 of the pot cover 290 of the covered potted plant 288. Theresulting sleeve/plant package is designated in FIG. 72 by the generalreference numeral 320. Shown in FIG. 73 is the sleeve/plant package 320after the upper portion of the sleeve 300 has been removed causing theskirt portion 292 of the pot cover 290 of the covered potted plant 288to be exposed and the remaining portion 322 of the sleeve 300 leftbondingly connected to a portion of the base portion 294 of the potcover 290 of the covered potted plant 288.

In an alternative embodiment of a sleeve/cover combination, a sleevehaving a skirt portion attached therein is shown in FIGS. 74 and 75 anddesignated by the general reference numeral 326. The sleeve/covercombination 326 comprises a sleeve 328. The sleeve 328 comprises a baseportion 330 having a lower end 332, a sleeve portion 334 having an upperend 336, an outer peripheral surface 338, and an inner peripheralsurface 340. A skirt component 342 comprising a lower end 344, an upperend 346, an outer peripheral surface 348, an inner peripheral surface350 and a bonding material 352 is shown disposed within the sleeve 328.The skirt component 342 is bondingly connected at a portion of its outerperipheral surface 348 to a portion of the inner peripheral surface 340of the sleeve 328 via the bonding material 352. The upper end 346 of theskirt component 342 is substantially surrounded and encompassed by thesleeve portion 334 of the sleeve 328. Shown in FIG. 75 is an alternateview of the skirt component 342 bondingly connected by the bondingmaterial 352 to a portion of the inner peripheral surface 340 of thesleeve 328. Also shown in FIG. 75 are perforations 354 in the sleeve 328for allowing detachment of the sleeve portion 334 away from the skirtcomponent 342 and the base portion 330 thereby allowing the skirtcomponent 342 to be exposed.

Embodiments of FIGS. 76-86

In yet another version of the present invention rather than providing apreformed pot cover, a sheet of material may be provided for forming acover about a pot. In an embodiment as shown in FIG. 76 a sheet ofmaterial 360 is provided. The sheet of material 360 has an inner surface362, an outer surface 364, a first edge 366, a second edge 368, a thirdedge 370, a fourth edge 372, and a bonding material 374 which isdisposed upon a portion of the outer surface 364. A potted plant 298 canbe disposed upon the inner surface 362 of the sheet of material 360,which can then be wrapped and formed into a decorative cover 376 aboutthe potted plant 298 as shown in FIG. 77 in a manner well known to aperson of ordinary skill in the art. The decorative cover 376 thusformed comprises a base portion 378, and a skirt portion 380. Thebonding material 374 is therefore disposed upon an outer surface 381 ofthe decorative cover 376. Shown in FIGS. 78 and 79, and designated bythe general reference numeral 382, is a sleeve having an outerperipheral surface 384, an inner peripheral surface 386, and an innerretaining space 387 surrounded by the inner peripheral surface 386. Thepotted plant 298 shown in FIG. 77 having the decorative cover 376 isthen disposed in the inner retaining space 387 of the sleeve 382 whereinthe bonding material 374 of the decorative cover 376 engages a portionof the inner peripheral surface 386 of the sleeve 382 thereby bondinglyconnecting a portion of the outer peripheral surface 381 of thedecorative cover 376 to the inner peripheral surface 386 of the sleeve382 in forming a sleeve/plant package 388 as shown in FIG. 79.

In an alternate version of the invention shown in FIGS. 80 and 81, asleeve 382 a having an outer peripheral surface 384 a, an innerperipheral surface 386 a, and an inner retaining space 387 a isprovided. Disposed upon a portion of the inner peripheral surface 386 aof the sleeve 382 a is a bonding material 390. A potted plant 298 suchas that shown in FIG. 77 having a decorative cover 376 which has abonding material 374 thereon is disposed within the inner retainingspace 387 a of the sleeve 382 a to form a sleeve/cover package 388 awherein the bonding material 390 of the sleeve 382 a bondingly connectsto the bonding material 374 of the decorative cover 376. Preferably,when both the sleeve 382 a and the decorative cover 376 have a bondingmaterial thereon the bonding material is a cohesive wherein the bondingmaterial 390 cohesively connects to the bonding material 374.

In an alternative version of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 82and 83, the sleeve may not be a tube but instead may be formed of a flatsheet of material having a generally trapezoidal, square or rectangularshape. It will be appreciated that any size or shape of sheet ofmaterial may be utilized as long as this sheet of material functions inthe manner described herein in accordance with the present invention.Shown in FIG. 82 is a sheet of material designated by the generalreference numeral 394. The sheet of material 394 has an inner surface396, an outer surface 398, a first edge 400, a second edge 402, a thirdedge 404 and a fourth edge 406. The sheet 394 further has verticalperforations 408 and lateral perforations 410 which represent detachingelements. The sheet 394 further has a first bonding strip 412 flankingthe second edge 402 and a second bonding strip 414 which is disposedhorizontally and flanks the third edge 404. The covered potted plant 288having the pot cover 290 is provided as shown previously in FIG. 73herein. The sheet of material 394 can then be wrapped about the coveredpotted plant 288 forming a generally frusto-conical shaped sleeve 416 asshown in FIG. 83. The first bonding strip 412 which here is shown to bevertically oriented is caused to engage and bondingly connect to thefourth edge 406 of the sheet of material 394 as indicated in FIG. 83thereby forming an overlapping sealed area between the first bondingstrip 412 and the portion of the surface of the sheet of material 394near the fourth edge 406. The second bonding strip 414 which here isshown to be horizontally oriented is caused to engage and bondinglyconnect circumferentially about a portion of the outer peripheralsurface 296 of the pot cover 290 formed about the covered potted plant288 thereby forming a generally frusto-conical shaped sleeve 416 andforming a sleeve/cover package 418 comprising the covered potted plant288 and then the sleeve 416. A portion of the sleeve 416 can then beremoved by detaching the portion along the perforations 408 and 410.

Another version of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 84-86. In FIG. 84, asheet of material designated by the general reference numeral 394 a isprovided. The sheet of material 394 a has an inner surface 396 a, anouter surface 398 a, a first edge 400 a, a second edge 402 a, a thirdedge 404 a and a fourth edge 406 a. The sheet of material 394 a furtherhas a plurality of vertical perforations 408 a and a plurality oflateral perforations 410 a. Further, the sheet of material 394 a has afirst bonding strip 412 a which is generally disposed along the secondedge 402 a, a second bonding strip 414 a which is generally disposedalong the third edge 404 a and a sealing strip 420 a which is generallydisposed along the first edge 400 a. As indicated in the embodimentpreviously shown in FIGS. 82 and 83 the sheet of material 394 a can bewrapped about the covered potted plant 288 to form a sleeve/coverpackage 424. As shown in FIGS. 85 and 86 the sealing strip 420 a can besealed along its length to seal the upper end 421 of the sleeve 422formed therefrom for reducing gas exchange or moisture loss from thecovered potted plant 288.

It should also be noted that for all versions of preformed covers andsheets of material described above and elsewhere herein, an additionalbonding material may be disposed either on the outer surface of thecover, the inner surface of the cover, or both the outer and innersurfaces of the cover for allowing portions of the cover to becrimpingly connected to the pot in exactly the same manner as describedelsewhere herein. Further, in each of these versions described hereinthe sleeve which is bondingly connected to the cover comprises adetaching element as described earlier for allowing the sleeve orportion thereof to be detached from the cover thereby exposing the skirtportion of the base of the cover or another portion of the base andallowing the portion thereby exposed to extend angularly from the baseof the cover. Further, in any of the versions of the present inventiondescribed herein, it may be desirable to have a cover strip covering thebonding material disposed on any portion of the object for preventingthe bonding material from bonding to a surface until the desired time.Further in each of the cases described herein wherein a sleeve isapplied to a pot or a covered pot, the sleeve may be applied theretoeither by depositing the pot or covered pot downwardly into the openretaining space of the sleeve, or the sleeve may be brought upwardlyabout the pot or covered pot from below the pot or covered pot as shownfor example using the pedestal of FIGS. 54 and 55.

It should be further noted that features of the versions of the presentinvention shown in FIGS. 6-20 such as closure bonding areas, supportextensions, handles, additional perforations and combinations ofmaterial may be used alone or in combination as elements of any of theembodiments described above herein.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

1. A method of containing a floral grouping, comprising the steps of:providing a floral grouping comprising at least one cut flower or cutplant, the floral grouping having at least one of a bloom portion, astem portion and a foliage portion; providing a sleeve having an upperend, a lower end, and a flattened condition and openable to expose aninner retaining space, the sleeve having a first panel, a second panel,a first side edge and a second side edge wherein the first and secondpanels are connected along at least a portion of the first side edge andalong at least a portion of the second side edge, at least a portion ofat least one of the first and second panels comprising at least twolayers of material wherein the at least two layers of material aresubstantially connected, and wherein at least a portion of one of the atleast two layers of material extends above another layer; and disposingat least a portion of at least one of the stem portion, the bloomportion and the foliage portion of the floral grouping into the innerretaining space of the sleeve.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein, in thestep of providing a sleeve, the at least two layers of material thatform at least a portion of at least one of the first and second panelsare laminated.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein, in the step ofproviding a sleeve, the lower end of the sleeve is open.
 4. The methodof claim 1 wherein, in the step of providing a sleeve, the lower end ofthe sleeve is closed.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein, in the step ofproviding a sleeve, the sleeve has at least one drainage or ventilationhole formed therein.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein, in the step ofproviding a sleeve, the sleeve further comprises an upper portion whichis detachable from the sleeve.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein, in thestep of providing the sleeve, the at least two layers of material thatform at least a portion of at least one of the first and second panelsare constructed from a material selected from the group consisting ofpaper, polymeric film, non-polymeric film, woven fabric, nonwovenfabric, synthetic fabric, natural fabric, cardboard, fiber, cloth,burlap, laminations thereof and combinations thereof.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 wherein, in the step of providing the sleeve, the sleeve has abonding material disposed on at least a portion thereof.
 9. The methodof claim 1 wherein, in the step of providing the sleeve, the connectionbetween the first and second panels along at least a portion of thefirst and second side edges is a seal.
 10. The method of claim 1wherein, in the step of providing the sleeve, the upper end of thesleeve is provided with a non-linear upper edge.
 11. The method of claim1 wherein, in the step of providing the sleeve, the sleeve is providedwith at least one of a decorative pattern, decorative finish, decorativedesign, decorative color and combinations thereof disposed thereon. 12.The method of claim 1 wherein, in the step of providing the sleeve, thesleeve is provided with a modification disposed on at least a portionthereof, wherein the modification is selected from the group consistingof printing, embossing, flocking, a metallic finish, etching, andcombinations thereof.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein, in the step ofproviding a floral grouping, the floral grouping comprises at least onecut fresh flower or at least one cut fresh plant.
 14. The method ofclaim 1 wherein, in the step of providing a floral grouping, the floralgrouping comprises at least one artificial cut flower or at least oneartificial cut plant.
 15. The method of claim 1 wherein, in the step ofproviding a sleeve, at least a portion of the sleeve is tapered.
 16. Themethod of claim 1 wherein, in the step of providing a sleeve, at least aportion of the sleeve is tubular.
 17. A method of containing a floralgrouping, comprising the steps of: providing a floral groupingcomprising at least one cut flower or cut plant, the floral groupinghaving at least one of a bloom portion, a stem portion and a foliageportion; providing a sleeve having an upper end, a lower end, and aflattened condition and openable to expose an inner retaining space, thesleeve having a first panel, a second panel, a first side edge and asecond side edge wherein the first and second panels are connected alongat least a portion of the first side edge and along at least a portionof the second side edge, at least a portion of at least one of the firstand second panels comprising at least two layers of material wherein atleast a portion of the at least two layers of material are connected,and wherein at least a portion of one of the at least two layers ofmaterial extends above another layer; and disposing at least a portionof at least one of the stem portion, the bloom portion and the foliageportion of the floral grouping into the inner retaining space of thesleeve.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing asleeve, the at least two layers of material that form at least a portionof at least one of the first and second panels are laminated.
 19. Themethod of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing a sleeve, the lowerend of the sleeve is open.
 20. The method of claim 17 wherein, in thestep of providing a sleeve, the lower end of the sleeve is closed. 21.The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing a sleeve, thesleeve has at least one drainage or ventilation hole formed therein. 22.The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing a sleeve, thesleeve further comprises an upper portion which is detachable from thesleeve.
 23. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing thesleeve, the at least two layers of material that form at least a portionof at least one of the first and second panels are constructed from amaterial selected from the group consisting of paper, polymeric film,non-polymeric film, woven fabric, nonwoven fabric, synthetic fabric,natural fabric, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, laminations thereof andcombinations thereof.
 24. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step ofproviding the sleeve, the sleeve has a bonding material disposed on atleast a portion thereof.
 25. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the stepof providing the sleeve, the connection between the first and secondpanels along at least a portion of the first and second side edges is aseal.
 26. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing thesleeve, the upper end of the sleeve is provided with a non-linear upperedge.
 27. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing thesleeve, the sleeve is provided with at least one of a decorativepattern, decorative finish, decorative design, decorative color andcombinations thereof disposed thereon.
 28. The method of claim 17wherein, in the step of providing the sleeve, the sleeve is providedwith a modification disposed on at least a portion thereof, wherein themodification is selected from the group consisting of printing,embossing, flocking, a metallic finish, etching, and combinationsthereof.
 29. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providing afloral grouping, the floral grouping comprises at least one cut freshflower or at least one cut fresh plant.
 30. The method of claim 17wherein, in the step of providing a floral grouping, the floral groupingcomprises at least one artificial cut flower or at least one artificialcut plant.
 31. The method of claim 17 wherein, in the step of providinga sleeve, at least a portion of the sleeve is tapered.
 32. The method ofclaim 17 wherein, in the step of providing a sleeve, at least a portionof the sleeve is tubular.